Vessl

Most beverage companies today leverage single-use disposable plastic bottles to reduce cost. However, the environmental impact of using these plastic bottles is far from optimum. Aside from the plastic waste, the filling, labeling, packaging and transportation for bulky and heavy bottled products composed of liquid ingredients that is primarily water, drives up the cost of Supply Chain operations. All of this in order to transport an ingredient that is generally available to consumers everywhere – Water. Having worked in the beverage industry for over 25 years, Walter Apodaca witnessed these issues first-hand, which gave him the impetus to help businesses reduce expenditure and eliminate environmental waste. As a result, he founded Vessl in 2011, “I wanted to eliminate the ridiculous amount of plastic waste and inefficiency that was in the system,” says Apodaca, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, of Vessl.

Vessl, Inc. today is widely known for its patented bottle closure technology. This revolutionary closure employs an oxygen-depleted and nitrogen-pressurized delivery chamber to create a preservative-free storage environment for concentrated ingredients used on a variety of applications such as beverages, nutraceuticals, aeration, hygiene, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and much more.

The Vessl^™ closure is lightweight and extremely easy to handle and ship. Businesses can easily sell them in e-commerce-friendly multipacks that are comprised of a single reusable bottle and multiple Vessl^™ refills. After using the initial bottle, consumers can refill it with water and simply twist on another Vessl^™ refill to instantly and easily prepare another. Businesses gain monetary benefits by eliminating the need to ship thousands of bottles and reducing CO2 emissions. “We can get close to 700,000 Vessl^™ closures on a truckload, compared with 50,000 half-liter bottles. When you consider a marketplace that's quickly moving to e-commerce, it provides a significantly more efficient way to bring products to market through the Supply Chain in a very cost-effective manner.
It eliminates carbon emissions associated with those trucks. If you do the math on that, it's roughly 15 truckloads eliminated for those 700,000 units, and it also eliminates those 700,000 bottles. Those single use bottles are eliminated from the waste stream by the consumer using a reusable bottle. The good news is that many consumers have already adopted reusable water bottles, so we fit right in,” Apodaca explained.

In addition to sustainability and e-commerce benefits, Vessl solves the problem for businesses desiring a longer shelf life for products, especially when exporting to different countries. With many natural and organic products there is a higher chance of active ingredients settling and separating and losing their efficacy. Vessl^™ offers a solution by purging oxygen from headspace and preserving the active content under pressure of an inert gas, in a UV protected chamber. This prevents degradation and frees users from the complicated mixing process associated with most concentrate refill formats.

Due to such a unique value proposition, Vessl^™ has earned a legion of passionate and forward-thinking customers across the globe. For instance, one beverage company intends to leverage the Vessl closure to supply instantly prepared drinks to their customers. “Another problem we help solve is the degradation of colors, flavors and aroma. By storing these drinks in a protective cocoon, the natural ingredients in a complex drink with nuanced flavors, for example, will remain fresh rather than losing its essence and flavor quality. This is what makes the Vessl^™ technology stand out,” Apodaca pointed out.

Apart from beverage offerings, Vessl^™ is used in a prestige skincare product produced by the Artistry skincare division of Amway. It allows them to export their anti-aging serum to 32 countries around the world, while keeping the product quality perfectly intact. “They have some extremely effective anti-aging serums, but the challenge with getting these brands through the global supply chain is that ingredients like antioxidants have a very short shelf life, as short as 30 or 60 days. Without Vessl^™, by the time the consumer gets the product, the ingredient may not have full efficacy. With Vessl^™, we helped them achieve over a two-year shelf life on the same product,” Apodaca states.

Apodaca went on to mention that thousands of brick and mortar retail stores had closed in the years preceding the current global pandemic. A trend that is accelerating as a result of the pandemic. This has played a vital role in the growth of e-commerce activities across the globe. In such a scenario, it has become a challenge for Consumer Packaged Goods companies to handle the increasing customer pressure and seamlessly deliver bottled products through e-commerce. Vessl^™ enables such brands to eliminate the shipment of large containers and more efficiently meet customer demands, while reducing transport costs.

What’s more? Vessl, Inc. has a group of sales and marketing experts who help clients build a customer base and bring their products to life. That’s why, even during the Coronavirus outbreak, the company has witnessed a surge in sales. Apodaca believes that the demand for their technology will continue to increase in the coming years due to the rapidly changing marketplace and pressure to offer sustainable and e-commerce ready solutions. The company is working with some of the largest Consumer Packaged Goods companies in the world to further expand its footprint. “The proof is in the pudding. The Vessl^™ closure is being used on brands that are performing well and sold in 50 countries. At the top of our list is sustainability, minimizing waste and doing all we can to help save the planet. We're on a clear path to break the disposable bottle paradigm, while delivering healthier and more efficacious ingredients,” Apodaca concludes.